Reporter Jasmine Demers' Fave Five of 2020

One of my favorite things about being a journalist is being able to connect with people and having the honor of telling their stories. This was one of the most difficult stories I’ve ever had to write, but I was so grateful that this family trusted me enough to do so during such an incredibly sad and vulnerable time for them. I’m hoping that everyone who reads this story is reminded that COVID-19 cases and fatalities are so much more than just statistics.

— Jasmine Demers

She died less than an hour after being rushed to Tucson Medical Center.

Her illness kept getting worse over a few days. She tested negative for the flu and then eventually found out she had pneumonia. A lung X-ray prompted her doctor to order a COVID-19 test.

Three days later, her test result came back positive. And within minutes of arriving at the hospital, the 54-year-old woman became Tucson’s first known coronavirus-related fatality.

“She’s not just a statistic,” said the woman’s niece Olivia Meza Cannito. “She’s a human, she’s a mother, a daughter, a sister and an aunt. She was everything.”

The family, worried about the stigma attached to people who catch a disease that’s so easily transmitted and has prompted cities across the world to shut down, asked that the woman’s full name not be used in this story. The family members now find themselves in home quarantine.

They asked that the woman be identified by her last name, Anderson.

She worked as a receptionist at a pediatric clinic on the city’s east side. Her family said all she ever wanted to do was help people and she was particular about doing things to stay healthy. She was also diabetic, which put her at a higher risk for developing more severe symptoms associated with the virus.

Read the full story here.

I think this story is incredibly important and was really grateful to Michael Mariano and his wife Robin Johnston for sharing their experience with me. As scientists and doctors continue to learn more about the novel coronavirus, it’s become more and more clear that the disease leaves patients, particularly those who are hospitalized, with long-term effects that some have yet to recover from. Even when we get control of the virus and the world goes back to “normal,” physicians say the health care system will still have to find a way to support patients who are dealing with the aftermath.

— Jasmine Demers

After spending two months in the hospital with COVID-19, Michael Mariano wants more than anything for his life to return to normal. But like many patients who develop a severe respiratory illness, his road to recovery is far from over.

Mariano survived four weeks on a ventilator and two weeks on ECMO — a therapy that adds oxygen to a patient’s blood and pumps it through their body. The 62-year-old said he is left with a body and life that are vastly different from the ones he knew before he contracted the coronavirus.

While the long-term impacts of the novel coronavirus are largely unknown, the effects of extended ICU stays and intubation on severely ill patients are alarmingly clear. In the midst of a pandemic that has affected over 2.7 million people in the United States alone, some medical professionals are now concerned that the health-care system will continue to be overwhelmed by patients who are dealing with the aftermath of the coronavirus.

“It’s important that we highlight and anticipate these long-term problems and put in place policies, systems and infrastructure to take care of these patients long term,” said Dr. Christian Bime, director of the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Banner–University Medical Center Tucson. “Because COVID-19 has affected so many people at the same time, we will have a lot of survivors who will be needing these services. I anticipate that the health-care system will need to put in place the infrastructure to take care of the survivors.”

Read the full story here.

Talking to families who have lost a family member is one of the hardest parts about being a journalist, but in this case, we felt like we needed to humanize the narrative. So often throughout this pandemic, I think people look at the data and the numbers and can forget that there are real live human beings behind them. And unfortunately, the people who are dying from this virus are mostly older adults, particularly those living in long-term care facilities.

— Jasmine Demers

If Jesus Medina had a chance to speak with his aunt one last time, he would simply say, “I’m sorry.”

Yolanda Cervantez, 63, was only supposed to be at Sapphire of Tucson Nursing and Rehabilitation for a couple of months to recover from hip surgery.

It was there that she contracted the coronavirus. She died of complications related to COVID-19 on April 2.

“I’m sorry for letting her down. I wasn’t there when she needed me most,” Medina said. “She would have been fine if I would have brought her home to my house.”

Cervantez is one of 38 long-term-care residents to die from the coronavirus in Pima County as of Thursday, representing more than half of the county’s known deaths related to COVID-19, according to an analysis of data obtained by the Arizona Daily Star.

With at least 58 residents and 36 staff members testing positive for the virus as of Friday, Sapphire accounts for about a third of Pima County’s known cases at long-term-care facilities. While the facility confirmed those numbers, it has not disclosed how many people have died there of the virus.

The Star spoke with family members of those who have lived at Sapphire and looked at its past state and federal evaluations, which show it is the most-cited nursing home for deficiencies related to care and emergency prevention in Tucson city limits over the last three years.

Read the full story here.

This was the first time I had spoken with someone who had COVID-19 and also survived a lengthy hospital stay. I was astonished by the strength and resiliency of Glen Reed and his family. After being on a ventilator for two weeks, his doctors didn’t know if Glen would ever wake up. But luckily, he came out on the other side.

— Jasmine Demers

Glen Reed was admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 on March 11. When his doctors told him he would have to be intubated, he and his family didn’t know if he would ever wake up.

“At that point, I thought there’s so much I didn’t do,” he said. “I have a grandson who’s just turning 6 and I’m thinking ‘God, what’s happening here?’ I’m not done yet. I’m not ready.”

After three weeks in intensive care and over two weeks on a ventilator, the 57-year-old was discharged from Northwest Medical Center on April 7. He is now negative for COVID-19.

Reed described the last month as the most difficult experience of his life. After developing shortness of breath and a fever around March 6, Reed’s wife finally persuaded him to go to the emergency room.

Because of testing constraints at that time, the hospital didn’t get his positive test result until March 15. Reed’s doctors knew he was at a higher risk for developing more severe symptoms because of his previously diagnosed hypertension.

“We were treating him with the assumption of this disease and not necessarily knowing that he had it,” said Dr. Ryan Matika, the hospital’s director of critical care and the physician in charge of Reed’s case. “When I reviewed his X-rays and CT scans and labs, it looked like it, it smelled like and it felt like it, so we just pulled the trigger and said this is what it is, and we’re going to go all in.”

Read the full story here.

This story is important because it shows the scope of the pandemic’s impact. At the same time that people are getting sick and dying of COVID-19, the virus has also inadvertently caused a spiral of economic hardships. People have lost their jobs, their businesses and their livelihoods. These financial hardships continue to impact people everyday and have harmful effects on the mental health of our community members.

— Jasmine Demers

Before the coronavirus pandemic, Carlos Figueroa’s small tortilleria business was picking up.

Maiz Tucson, which opened in 2018, became Figueroa’s passion and lifeline. He quit his job after eight years to pursue his love of making “corn tortillas that your abuela’s abuela would love” and perfected the craft using heirloom corn and all natural ingredients.

Selling to local restaurants and farmer’s markets, Figueroa was ready to take his business to the next level. Like so many business owners, workers and families, he could not prepare for what would happen next — a global pandemic that has bulldozed economies.

Figueroa is one of many local residents to apply for coronavirus relief aid through the city of Tucson’s We Are One | Somos Uno Resiliency Fund, a product of federal CARES Act dollars. In partnership with local organizations, the program has distributed over $5 million so far to further support small businesses, nonprofits, workers and families who are struggling financially through the pandemic.

Figueroa applied for a business continuity grant, administered by YWCA Southern Arizona, and received $7,500. He was one of 562 businesses to apply for funding and one of 236 businesses to be approved. More than half the applicants were Latino and nearly 66% were women, according to data provided by YWCA. The business owners who applied for funding represented a variety of markets, including food service, personal services, child care, retail and maintenance.

“The stories we’re reading in these applications are heartbreaking,” said Francisca Villegas-Braker Director of YWCA Southern Arizona’s Women’s Business Center. “These businesses are doing everything they can and they’re still struggling.”

Read the full story here.